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U.N. Renews Congo Sanctions Despite Misgivings

By

Joe Lauria

Updated Dec. 1, 2009 12:01 a.m. ET

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. Security Council on Monday renewed sanctions against rebel groups in eastern Congo, despite a U.N. report that said the measures had so far failed to stop exports of gold and other minerals that have financed a decadelong war there in which millions of civilians have been killed.

Monday's resolution asks U.N. member nations to "ensure importers, processing industries and consumers of Congolese mineral products under their jurisdiction exercise due diligence on their suppliers and on the origin of the minerals they purchase."

The resolution doesn't mention any companies or countries, but the U.N. experts' report, which is to be released in the next few weeks, does. The report, which was reviewed by news organizations including The Wall Street Journal, blames Uganda, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates for running a trading network of smuggled gold and other minerals.

Rwandan Hutu rebels in eastern Congo rely for financing on an international network of smuggled gold and other minerals.
Associated Press

A Ugandan diplomat protested the report in a closed-door Security Council meeting last week, saying it was based on assumptions, according to a diplomat present at the meeting. Officials at the missions of the U.A.E. and Rwanda to the U.N. said only their ambassadors could comment on the issue; the ambassadors couldn't be reached.

The report names companies that buy gold as well as cassiterite, an ore that is a source of tin, and coltan, used in cellphones. While the U.N. has sanctioned individuals and groups inside Congo for exporting the minerals, it hasn't extended those measures to traders or end buyers.

John Prendergast, co-founder of Enough, an antigenocide project at the Center for American Progress, a think tank in Washington, in an email response to the Journal on Monday called for the imposition of sanctions "on those that have been named in the U.N. experts report, as well as taking tangible steps to exclude conflict minerals from the supply chains of electronics and jewelry products."

"We do not comment on details of reports until they are published and any leaks are regrettable," said a U.K. government spokeswoman. "But the U.K. takes obligations under sanctions very seriously and will not hesitate to support sanctions against any person or company against whom there is sufficient evidence."

AMC on Monday referred questions to a statement released last week that said the company wouldn't comment until the U.N. report was officially released.

Thaisarco, AMC's tin-smelting unit, said in September it would suspend purchases of cassiterite, citing pressure from advocacy groups and the media.

"The campaign against us as a company has been aggressive and unrelenting," said
Giles Robbins,
director of AMC and chairman of Thaisarco, in an emailed response to questions shortly after the company announced its decision. He estimated Thaisarco bought between 40% and 50% of the cassiterite mined in eastern Congo.

Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said the U.S. would work with the U.N. to "prevent the continued illegal exploitation of Congo's minerals, including its gold, which is funding the rebels and the fighting in Congo."